"President Snow," Peeta says, holding his hand out. If I didn't know him so well, I probably wouldn't be able to detect the undercurrent of anger in his tone. He hates this man as much as I do.

Snow shakes his hand with a pompous grin on his face and turns to me expectantly.

"Mr. President," I muster, and hold my hand out. He shakes it limply. It feels like a dead fish in my hand, and all I want to do is wipe his sweat off my palm, but I know I can't yet.

"That was quite the show you two put on," he smiles, gesturing back to the stage we just exited.

"All we did was tell the truth," Peeta points out. I find his hand again and he laces our fingers together, both of us holding on for dear life. I can feel the coolness of his ring against my skin. It reassures me.

"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Mellark," Snow sneers. "I must tell you, when your wife pulled out those berries at the end of the Games, I was quite worried."

"Why?" I ask curiously, even though I'm pretty sure I know his answer.

"Simple, Mrs. Mellark. I felt that your gesture might be misconstrued in the Districts as an act of defiance towards the Capitol. You did break the rules, after all, and showed us up."

"Only after you tricked us," I snap. Peeta squeezes my hand, silently coaxing me to reign in my anger.

"Yes, well I apologize for that turn of events. It made the Games much more entertaining. Your improbable love has made this the most popular Hunger Games ever." He doesn't seem sorry whatsoever for almost forcing me to murder the love of my life. Asshole.

"We're glad to help the Capitol in any way," Peeta tells him. I have no idea how he can lie so convincingly with a straight face.

"Ah, I am happy to hear you say that. That is why I wished to speak to you tonight. When you let the country know about your marriage and your child, I knew I needed to discuss the upcoming Tour with you. By the way, the baby is real, is it not? I would hate to find out you two are lying."

"Yes, it's real. I'm pregnant," I tell him, my left hand instinctually going to cover my stomach, protecting my baby from the evil in front of me.

"Good. Now, about the Victory Tour. I need you two to be on your best behavior. Your mentors will be provided with speeches for each of your stops, and I expect you to recite them word for word. The Districts need to be convinced of your love, and must understand your actions at the Games were born out of that love."

Before I can come up with a retort, Peeta answers for both of us.

"Of course, President Snow. Like I said, we'll help in any way we can."

I can tell that the President is actually nervous. I'm sure it's because he thinks he might not be able to control us, and we may go off script. For now, I know we have to play along. Our baby's safety depends on it. Haymitch and Effie have told us about some problems in some of the Districts that began after the Games ended. Apparently, when they saw me pull out those berries and ignore the Capitol's rules, it inspired them to stand up for what they believe in. Stand up against the Capitol. That's why the President is so insistent we follow their plan to the letter. Peeta and I have discussed this before, and we're still not sure where we stand with everything. Ideally, we both wish we could get rid of the Hunger Games for good, especially with our child on the way. We agreed to let it play itself out, and see what happens when we visit the Districts. Although the real reason I pulled out those berries was because I refused to live without Peeta, it actually makes me proud that it has inspired people to stand up to the Capitol.

"Very well, Mr. Mellark. I'm sure you two will be have a most delightful time on your Tour. I will see to it that you have every luxury available to you. But remember, you must do what is asked of you. I'm sure you can fathom what the consequences may be for any type of defiance, inadvertent or not."

With that, he nods to us, turns, and walks away, disappearing around a corner. Peeta and I are glued to the spots we're standing in, still trying to process the threats he so causally just threw our way. I'm sure he was talking about our baby and our families.

I turn to Peeta, and I'm sure I have the same surprised and slightly terrified look on my face. He squeezes my hand again, and I find myself collapsing into his arms. He wraps them around me and rubs my back softly.

"It's okay, Kat. We'll get through this, together. Just like everything else. As long as we're together," he whispers.

"I'm scared, Peeta," I admit quietly.

"I know," he nods. "I won't let him touch you or our baby, Katniss. I'll die before I let that happen." I know he means it, too.

"Peeta, I know you will. But please, you can't leave me. I can't do this without you. I can't live without you," I plead.

"Shh, it's okay," he comforts. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I love you so much," I tell him with tears in my eyes.

"I love you too, Kat. Both of you," he responds, lightly stroking my cheek.

I lean up to kiss him, and he meets me halfway. This is a different embrace. This is one of reassurance, promises, and a deep love. It's slow and tender, unlike our sometimes frantic kisses in the bedroom.

We eventually find ourselves back in our bedroom in the Training Center, having listened to Effie gush on about how wonderful our interview went. Peeta and just retire to our room, change, and climb into bed together. We're still reeling from our confrontation with Snow.

Five minutes later, there's a knock on our door. Peeta gets up to answer it.

"Who are you?" I hear him ask. I pull the sheets up higher around my body, as all I'm wearing is one of Peeta's t-shirts and a pair of panties. When the mystery person walks in, I know I've seen him somewhere before. He's obviously from the Capitol, and walks in confidently. He takes a seat in a chair facing the bed. Peeta comes back and sits next to me, taking my hand in his.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mellark, let me introduce myself. My name is Plutarch Heavensbee, and I am this year's head Gamemaker."

That's where I saw him. When I shot the arrow at the apple during my private training evaluation, he was the one who fell into the punch bowl. I knew I recognized him.

"What do you want?" I ask, more tired than anything. I'm not in the mood for any more of the Capitol's sadistic games.

"I can assure you I mean you no harm. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I want to talk to you about rebellion."

"What? Rebellion?" Peeta asks.

"Yes. Your actions in the Games, Mrs. Mellark, have sparked something in Panem. People are realizing they can, in fact, stand up to the Capitol, and are starting to do so. Sadly, the Peacekeepers in the Districts have been successful so far in squelching any disturbances, and the Capitol has kept this a secret."

"How can we trust you? You're a Gamemaker! You help plan our deaths!" I say angrily.

"Mrs. Mellark, I can assure you the only reason I am a Gamemaker is to get as close to the Capitol as possible. I have been working against them in secret with my colleagues for years. There are more of us than you may think."

"How do you know we'll help?" Peeta asks.

"I told them you would," Haymitch interjects, entering the room.

"Mr. Abernathy has been helping us for years," Plutarch explains. "He contacted me through intermediaries a few months ago and told me about how the two of you despise the Capitol. We discussed this, and decided that we would bring you in and hope you will help us."

Peeta and I look at each other, questioning looks on our faces. Once again, we have an entire conversation without a single word spoken. We are both thinking of our baby and the future we want our children to have. I turn back to Plutarch and sigh heavily.

"What do you need us to do?" I ask. He and Haymitch smile.

"For now, do exactly what the Capitol expects of you. I'm sure they'll give you speeches for your District visits. Don't do anything to raise their suspicions. You must appear to be their faithful puppets for the time being."

Peeta and I nod in understanding. This is getting more complicated by the minute.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you to keep this between yourselves. The success of the rebellion depends on your discretion. We thank you in advance for your cooperation," Plutarch says honestly.

"Won't they hear this conversation and see that you came to see us?" I ask, knowing the Capitol's penchant for filming everything in and around the Training Center.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Mellark," Plutarch assures me. "The cameras are all on a loop, and if they go back and listen to the audio tapes from your bedroom, they will hear you two happily asleep. Feel free to talk freely while in here, they won't hear a thing. We have our own technology experts, you see, and I dare say, they're better than the Capitol's. How do you think they never found out about your secret marriage or your pregnancy? We had all the surveillance in District 12 secretly altered to our specifications. They only hear and see what we want them to. And don't worry, there are no cameras of any kind inside your home."

I breathe a sigh of relief. At first, this seemed so random and unbelievable. However, when Haymitch showed up, I knew it was real. It scares me a little that the Capitol has tried to spy on us in our home, the place where we feel safest. I am grateful to Plutarch and his mystery accomplices for helping us before we even knew about them. It makes me begin to trust them.

"Now, I must get going," Plutarch says after a moment of silence. "I'm glad we had this opportunity to meet. Unfortunately, I doubt we will speak again any time soon. If you need to get a message to me, or vice versa, we will go through Haymitch. He knows the protocols for contact. Thank you both again." With that, he nods gratefully, and he and Haymitch walk out together, quietly talking among themselves.

Peeta and I collapse back into our pillows. We're both speechless. The last ten minutes have changed our lives irrevocably forever. It's yet to be seen whether for good or bad.

"Are you okay, Kat?" Peeta asks after a few minutes.

I roll over and splay myself on top of him, kissing his chest lightly.

"Yeah," I tell him. "Just….trying to take it all in, it's a lot to wrap my head around."

"I know," he agrees, "but we're doing the right thing. The Capitol has to be stopped."

"I know," I repeat, "it's just scary, I guess. We're right in the middle of this, Peeta. I feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders now."

"If there's anybody who can succeed at this, I know it's you, Katniss. You're stronger and braver than anyone."

"I'm not brave, Peeta. I'm a coward. I couldn't even tell you how I felt about you until I had already broken your heart. I purposefully stayed away from you in the Games so I wouldn't have to face you."

"You also volunteered as Tribute without a second thought, kept your family alive for years when you were still a kid, and had the guts to come to me and admit you made a mistake. I know what that took. Kat, I mean it when I say you have courage that I've never seen in anybody before. It inspires me. It's one of the many reasons I fell in love with you."

"You're brave too, Peeta, don't forget that. You took a beating to give me that bread. You joined the careers, well aware they might kill you, to protect me. You let me go, knowing you'd have to face Cato while hallucinating. You immediately offered to lay down your life so I could live when they revoked the rule change. You trusted me immediately when I pulled out those berries, even after the way I'd treated you. You stand up to your mother constantly to defend me. I know, in my heart, that you would do anything to protect our baby and me. You're the one who gives me courage, Peeta, not the other way around."

"I love you, Kat," he whispers as he kisses me.

"I love you too, Peeta. Always."

I kiss him again, and lay my head on his chest.

"You know, we've never really talked about that day except briefly in the cave. About when you saved my life giving me that bread."

"You want to talk about it?" He asks.

"Yeah, I think I do. I spent so many years trying to get up the courage to just say thank you, and I never did. Not even when we were thrown together in the Games. I was just a complete bitch to you instead. It makes me so sad to think about how I treated you, Peeta, after you risked so much to help me."

"Kat, I didn't even think twice about it. I can't stand to see you in pain."

"I know, and I love your for it. But I want you to know how truly thankful I am for everything you've done for me, not just the bread. I would be dead a million times over if it wasn't for you. The day after you threw me the loaves, I tried to thank you in the schoolyard. I looked at you, and our eyes met, and I blushed and looked down. There, growing out of the grass was a single dandelion. It reminded me of everything my father had taught me in the woods. It was then I knew how I would feed my family. You see, Peeta, I wouldn't have come to that realization if it weren't for you. I would have starved, and so would Prim and my mom. You're my dandelion, Peeta. You give me hope, courage, love, and a life worth living." Finally, I get out everything I always meant to tell him. It feels like giant weight lifted off my chest. The monkey off my back. Thinking back on what I said, I know I have to add one more thing. "And Peeta, I can't tell how happy it makes me that I'm bringing your child into this world. That he or she will get to experience all the love that you give me. I love you more than I can ever say, and I know we'll love this baby just as much, if not more."

Peeta is again speechless. He's staring at me yet again with that look of awe that makes me tremble with anticipation.

"Wow, Kat," he finally ekes out. "That was…. thank you. I don't know what to say. I love you too?"

I chuckle into his chest.

"You don't have to say anything, Peeta. I needed to tell you all that. For both of us, and the baby. That's why we need to help this rebellion. We have to make this world better for our children. I refuse to sit back and let the Capitol ruin everything that's good and pure in our lives."

"I know, Katniss. I'm with you all the way. Whatever it takes."

I nod and our lips meet again. Soon, I find myself in the throes of passion with my husband, and there's no place I'd rather be. This is, again, a different experience. It's almost like we're sealing a promise to each other, but using our love to reassure one another at the same time. It's astonishing how emotional we both get afterwards, especially when Peeta rests his head gently on my stomach. I run my hands through his hair as he sings softly to our child and tells them how wonderful of a mother they have. It makes me smile.

We fall asleep with my back against his chest, one of his hands protectively covering my stomach. It makes me grin that even in his sleep, he protects us.

The next day, we find ourselves yet again at Caesar Flickerman's studio. Instead of an interview, though, we're showing off our talents to the country.

I go first, as usual. I'm happy that I decided to actually help Cinna instead of letting him do all the work. When I get up and start to explain the different dresses, gowns, and outfits, I actually sound like I know what I'm talking about. Cinna surprises me by showing up with a brand new batch of maternity clothes, a range of outfits designed to fit me all the way from now until I come to term. He knows that I don't actually enjoy being all dolled up in fancy dresses and what not for too long, so most of the maternity clothes are comfortable, practical, and low key. He even whispers to me that he designed a lot of them to stand up to the rigors of hunting. I grin and hug him tightly.

When I'm finally finished with my presentation and have answered a few questions from Caesar and the crowd, I make my way to the wings and make sure I have a good view of the stage. I await Peeta. He has showed me a few of the paintings he's going to reveal. He wanted to make sure I was okay with him showing the whole country some of them, because most of his paintings are of intimate and private moments between him and me. We went over a bunch of paintings and agreed on a few.

The first one he shows he announces he's entitled 'Epiphany'. It's of us in the cave. He's lying down with his head propped up slightly, asleep. I can see the sweat all over his body, and it reminds me of how hot he was to the touch, and how that frightened me to the core. His leg is mangled and bloody. I lay curled up next to him, with my chin on his chest, looking up at him, one hand resting gently on his cheek. The look in my eyes is unmistakable. It's love. There's a single tear running down my face. He painted this a couple months ago after I told him of my swirling emotions in the cave, and how it was then I'd finally admitted to myself that I was deeply, irreversibly, completely in love with him. It's one of my favorite paintings of his, and he promises me we'll hang it in our house when we return.

The next painting is called 'Farewell'. This one I wasn't sure I wanted him to show, not because it's of a personal moment, but because of the memories it brings back. It's of me after Rue's death. It's when I looked directly into the cameras and gave the traditional three-fingered District 12 silent goodbye gesture. My hand is raised with three fingers extended. You can easily see the anguish and uncontrollable rage in my eyes. It always makes me emotional to see this, as it obviously brings up all the memories of that day with Rue. I have never been more angry at the world than at that moment. This innocent, twelve-year old child had been murdered for no reason other than the entertainment of sadistic, bloodthirsty, subhuman Capitolians. It makes me sick to think about it even now.

He shows a few more, one of them depicting a moment from his fight with Cato; another is a perfect rendition of District 12 blanketed in snow. Finally he gets to the last one that's covered with a sheet. No matter how long or hard I begged and pleaded, he refused to show me this one. He told me it's a surprise.

He finally gently removes the sheet and I gasp. It's a moment we shared in the meadow only about a week and a half ago. We'd been strolling hand in hand, talking about nothing in particular, just enjoying the beautiful day and each other's company. Suddenly, Peeta stopped and kneeled in front of me, resting his hands lightly on my stomach and looked up at me. He didn't have to say anything. His painting has captured the emotion of the moment perfectly. You can see the love in both our gazes. My left hand is resting on his cheek, my gold wedding band glinting off the sunlight (even though I wasn't wearing it, I'm glad he added it). I feel tears streaming down my face. I can't help it. He's taken one of the greatest, most romantic moments we've experienced and encapsulated it perfectly on canvas. And now, the entire country is well aware of how much we love each other. I know this will help us with Snow, but I also feel extremely proud of my husband. He looks over to me, sees my tears, and gives me a small smile. I smile right back.

Peeta answers a few questions, just like I did. Someone asks what his favorite painting that he has done is, and Peeta says that it's private, and nobody will ever see it but him and me. I know exactly which one he's talking about – it's the painting he did from the sketch of me in bed after the first time we made love. I can spend hours gazing at it, still in disbelief that it is the real way my husband sees me.

We're both happy with how the talent reveals went, and both our stylists and mentors congratulate us. I finally get a moment alone with Peeta and thank him profusely for the wonderful painting, telling him how very much it and he mean to me.

We finally make it back to the Training Center and eat a quiet, relaxing dinner with Cinna, Portia, Haymitch and Effie. Peeta apparently made sure there was lamb stew for me, as I've been craving it a lot lately. He even somehow got cheese buns, and I'm fairly sure he's the one who baked them. My sneaky, sneaky husband!

In our bedroom later, I take a small bag and head into the bathroom. Peeta is already lying in bed, just staring at the ceiling. I have something I want him to see. It's a piece of clothing I had Cinna help me design. It's for Peeta and Peeta alone. I let my hair out of my braid and comb it down, cascading it over my shoulders. When I am ready, I poke my head out of the door, making sure he can't see my body.

"Peeta?"

He looks up.

"Yeah?"

"Can you sit at the edge of the bed and close your eyes, please?" I ask quietly.

"Why?"

"Peeta!" I groan. "I have a surprise for you. Just do it."

"Okay," he smiles and moves to the edge of the bed. I wait until I see his eyes are closed.

"Don't you dare think about opening them until I tell you," I warn gravely. "Cinna helped me design this, Peeta. It's for you. I wanted something to help show you not only how much I love you, but that I am yours, heart, body, and soul, forever."

He nods, and a grin is forming on his face. I'm sure he has some kind of idea what I'm wearing. Even though I would usually find this incredibly uncomfortable, I'm surprisingly content and ready.

"Okay, Peeta, open your eyes."

Peeta cracks one eye open, then both of them shoot wide open. His jaw drops. He looks me up and down, then again, in complete awe. I stand there and let him appraise me. I would never let anyone else look at me like this, but this is my husband. I am his.

I'm wearing mostly black lace, except for the black silk that is barely covering my breasts. Cinna tells me it used to be called lingerie. There are small lace straps over my shoulders, holding it up. It shows more cleavage than I can ever remember showing. Below my breasts, it's all lace, and there's a slit in the middle so he can see my stomach, where our baby is growing slowly. I'm wearing tiny black panties that have lace on the sides. I have long, black lacy stockings that reach halfway up my thighs. The only jewelry I have on is my wedding ring. I smile nervously down at Peeta.

"Well?" I prod.

"Katniss," he mumbles. "Oh my god. Katniss. You are so incredibly beautiful. So, so beautiful. Thank you. This is amazing. Thank you so much for being my wife. I love you. I love you so much."

"Peeta!" I cut off his rambling, even if it is cute. He can't take his eyes off me. "My eyes are up here, Peeta," I tease. "So, you like it?"

"Are you kidding? I never want you to take it off!"

"Well, that's too bad, because I was seriously considering taking it off….right now," I deadpan.

"Please, Kat, please," he begs. I get what he's asking. He wants to sit there and watch me take it all off. Yup, I'm really going to do this. Only for Peeta would I ever even contemplate something like this.

I slowly strip, starting with the stockings. The last thing I take off is my panties, and I jokingly fling them at Peeta. He catches them and makes me blush when he brings them up to his nose and inhales deeply. I'm already almost at the tipping point, so I simply jump on him. He catches me swiftly, and our lips finally meet.

This time, I know Effie and Haymitch heard us. There's no way they didn't. I couldn't control myself whatsoever. He brought me to the edge and then back again at least a dozen times. He made sure I had multiple releases before he even entered me, always thinking of my pleasure before his own. I surprised him at one point when I got off him, backed up a little, and took him fully in my mouth. I'd only done this a few times, considering I really had no idea what I was doing. Yet it was obvious how much he loved it, so I decided to give this to him. We ended up with me on my back and him hovering over me, our lips locked, one of his hands tangled in my hair and the other firmly gripping my breast. I'm sure I've drawn blood with the way I've been scratching his back. My heels are dug into his backside, drawing him further and further into me. When he finally released, me right there with him, we looked into each other's eyes, and both smiled simultaneously. He bent down and kissed me thoroughly, whispering words of love, which I instantly reciprocate.

Eventually, spent, we drift off to sleep slowly in a tight embrace, our fingers linked and our naked bodies pressed against each other as close as possible. Once again my nose smells the familiar scent of our two bodies coming together as one.

Right before I finally fall asleep, I hear Peeta mumble one sentence.

"Thank you, Cinna."

A/N: Wow! What a chapter. They meet with Snow, and then find out about the rebellion! When I was thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in this fic, I decided I didn't like how they were kept out of the loop until after the Quell. This, I think, will set up some better drama and action as we head towards the Quell. Not to mention the issues with pregnant Katniss, and how that will effect everything.

As per a suggestion in the reviews, I've changed the rating to 'M'. I realized after re-reading some of my chapters that I'm a lot raunchier than I thought. I'm sure you think the same after reading the last few paragraphs of this chapter. I just couldn't help myself, I guess.

Lastly, this is not the last we'll see of Snow. I guarantee that. This is only the beginning of him inserting himself into Katniss and Peeta's lives. Rut Ro!

Thank you all for the reviews, suggestions, encouragements, and breakdowns of the themes and characters. I'm glad that people are enjoying this story so far. I have a ton of ideas for upcoming chapters, and I hope people like where I plan to take it. Thanks again, and keep enjoying!